Why the Eredivisie is Europe’s Finishing School for Forwards

Forwards from the Dutch Eredivisie have an unusual habit of turning up later in highlight reels all over Europe. From Romário and Ronaldo using PSV as their springboard in the 1990s to Luis Suárez, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie lighting up the league before moving on, the Dutch top flight has long been a place where strikers sharpen their game before taking the next step.

Even in the modern era that pattern has not disappeared. The league remains one of the highest scoring in Europe and continues to promote young attacking players early, giving them the minutes and responsibility they often struggle to get elsewhere.

A league built around goals and attacking football

If you are a forward, the Eredivisie is a good place to be. Over recent seasons it has consistently ranked among the highest scoring leagues on the continent, with recent analysis putting it at around 3.1 to 3.3 goals per game on average, above the overall European mean.

Part of that comes from tradition. Dutch football culture prizes attacking intent, technical quality and positional rotation. Teams are encouraged to build out from the back, commit numbers forward and create overloads, which inevitably leads to chances at both ends. The result is a league in which strikers and attacking midfielders see a lot of the ball in the final third.

You can see that in recent seasons. In 2023 to 24, Luuk de Jong and Vangelis Pavlidis both scored 29 league goals, with Santiago Giménez not far behind on 23. Behind them sat a supporting cast of double figure scorers spread across the top half of the table, reflecting the volume of chances that leading Eredivisie sides typically create.

Big chances and early responsibility

The Eredivisie gives forwards something that is hard to quantify but easy to see. Responsibility arrives early. Clubs like Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord regularly bring teenagers and early twenty-somethings into the first team, often in central attacking roles rather than hiding them out wide.

That approach means young strikers are not just coming off the bench for ten minutes at a time. They are starting games, leading the line and being asked to make decisions in crowded penalty areas. If you are a centre forward or a second striker who likes to play between the lines, the Dutch league will usually give you the minutes to learn on the pitch rather than in reserve competitions.

There is also an ecosystem below the top flight that supports this. Several big clubs operate second teams in the Eerste Divisie, the Dutch second tier, which is used as a genuine development league rather than just a holding pen. That helps young attacking players bridge the gap from youth football to the Eredivisie with real professional minutes.

A business model based on developing and selling

Behind the romantic talk of development sits a very practical financial reality. Most Eredivisie clubs cannot compete with the big five leagues on broadcasting income or commercial deals. Their budgets are modest, and transfer spending is often tightly controlled.

That has pushed the league towards a clear model. Develop players, showcase them in the first team and then sell them on at the right moment. Analyses of Dutch club finances have repeatedly highlighted how player sales have become a lifeline for many sides, with transfer income a major part of their overall turnover.

For forwards, this model creates a virtuous circle. Clubs are motivated to give attacking prospects meaningful minutes to increase their value, and those same minutes help the player improve. When a striker puts together one or two prolific seasons, it is understood that a move to a bigger league is the likely next step.

From Romário and Ronaldo to Suárez and beyond

The pattern has been visible for decades. PSV was the European launchpad for Brazilian greats Romário and Ronaldo, both of whom arrived young, dominated Eredivisie defences and moved on after scoring at extraordinary rates. Romário scored 98 goals in 109 league games for PSV, while Ronaldo hit 42 in 46 before Barcelona came calling.

Later, forwards such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Luis Suárez followed similar paths. Van Nistelrooy’s prolific spell at PSV set up his move to Manchester United, while Suárez went from Groningen to Ajax to Liverpool, with each step built on the scoring platform he established in the Netherlands.

The trend has continued into the current era. Sebastien Haller rebuilt his reputation at Ajax, where he scored 47 goals in 66 appearances in all competitions, winning the Eredivisie golden boot before a big money transfer to Borussia Dortmund. More recently, strikers like Pavlidis, Giménez and emerging names such as Sem Steijn have used the league to showcase both pure finishing and all-round attacking qualities, attracting attention from clubs in larger competitions.

High risk, high reward for scouts

For recruiters, the Eredivisie is both a goldmine and a trap. Advanced analysis has repeatedly noted that while some attacking numbers translate well from the Dutch league to bigger competitions, others can be misleading because of the open nature of many games.

The rhythm of the league, with high pressing, space in transition and aggressive defending, can allow certain profiles of striker to put up very big numbers without necessarily possessing the tools to thrive in a more compact, physical environment. That is why for every Van Nistelrooy there has been a Vincent Janssen or Mateja Kezman who struggled to replicate Eredivisie form elsewhere.

Forwards who combine strong underlying numbers with adaptable movement, technical quality and decision making tend to be the ones who make the jump successfully. In that sense, the Eredivisie acts as both a showcase and a testing ground. It highlights attacking strengths, but it also exposes any weaknesses in hold up play, pressing or link up work because of how much action a striker sees.

Why it still matters for smaller clubs and leagues

The Dutch top flight sits outside the big five yet regularly sends players, especially forwards, into those competitions. Its clubs have shown that a clear development identity can offset financial disadvantages.

Forwards know that a move to the Eredivisie can offer them a real runway. They will play, they will get chances and if they perform, there is a well established pathway to larger stages. For clubs in other mid ranked European leagues, the Dutch example is a reminder that committing fully to youth development and an attacking philosophy can make you both competitive and sustainable.